The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1887-02-18
THE NumBER OF THE STARS.

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the orbit Of the remotest Of all the planets,
1900 millions of miles from the centre, We
have scarcely set foot on the threshold Of
the Temple Of Creation. While we remain
among the planetary worlds, we are among
our near neghbors; and while we continue
within the limits Of the solar system, we
are comparatively at home in the bound
less universe of God. If now we would
advance to the study of tie fixed stars, .
those myriads of lights which nightly
sparkle in our armament, We must leave
far behind the utmost bound of our sys-
TEN, pass through dark and painless re-
gions, and pierce into depths of space, the
very thought Of which awes and over
vhelms the mind
The distance Of the nearest Of the fixed
stars, AlpAG Ce1.toari, has been calculated
to be no less than 10000, 600, 000, 900 of
miles, space which it would occupy light.
travelling at the rate Of twelve millions of
miles minute, more than three years and
a half to pass oyeri Sirins, though APP
pearing as the brightest of all the stars, is
still at distance six times greater Yet
these are among the nearest of the stars.
the hosts of Heaven lie still immeasur-
ably further in the depths of space.
Distant as the stars are, astronomers
have contrived to detect a number Of IN
teresting phenomena connected with them.
Some stars are observed to increase and de-
crease in brightness within fixed and def
mite periods. Others seem to vary ftfully
in their magnitude and brilliancy. But
the most wonderful revelations of siderial
astronomy are what have been called
double, triple, and multiple stars. When
telescope of considerable power is direct
ed to certain stars, which appear single to
the naked eye, they are found double, one
star being quite adjacent to the other.
Others, again, are found triple etc. These
are found to reyolve around each other:
that is, two, thee or four suns, together
With their respective systems, revolve
around one another, or around their COM
mon centre of gravity. This assuredly is
most sublime conception, What can be
more august and overwhelming than the
idea Of resplendent suns revolving around
other equally resplendent suns; of suns en-
circled with numerous retinues Of plane
tary bodies, all in rapid motion, around
other similar suns, over unreasonable cir
conferences, and with a velocity surpass-
ing all human comprehension, and carry
ing all their planets with them in swift
career? Yet nearly G, 900 such sy stems of
double stars have been discovered. A
most curious and interesting fact connect
ed with these multiple systems is, that one
sun differs in color from the other suns in
the same system. In some instances, one
sun is yellow and another blue; in other
cases, one is Of crimson hue, while another
is of vivid green. What a variety Of illu-
mination two, three or four such suns must
afford to the planetary worlds circling
around them; what charming contrasts
and grateful vicissitudes-a red, green,
and yellow day alternating with white
one, and with darkness
The immense distances of the stars prove
their dimensions to be immense likewise,
otherwis they would be altogether inyis-
ible from our world. Experiments and
calculations go to prove that were the star
Sirius and our sun placed at equal dis
tances, that star would impart an amount
of light fourteen times greater than that OF
the sun. The diameter Of the star Vega
has been calculated TO be thirty-eight times
that of the sun; consequently its bulk
must be 81, 900 times that of the sun. W hat
a stupendous orb must such star be?
The earth we call large globe; other of
the planets are hundreds of times larger;
and the sun is 500 times larger than all the
planets and satellites put together-what
then must that body be which is IS, 900
times larger than the sum of the whole
solar system?
The number Of the stars is equally as
tonishing. Ordinarily, indeed, there are
not more than !, o00 visible to the naked
eye at one time; and not more than 6.000
in both hemispheres under the most favor
able circumstances. But these are only
the beginnings of the glories of the heav-
ems. When the telescope is turned toward
the sky, stars before unseen come forth by
myriads from the dark depths OF space:
and as the power of that instrument is in
creased, other myriads still come TO view.
The whole Milky Way is but cluster Of
stars. This remarkable belt. says the
Elder Herschel, when examined through
powerful telescope, is found to consist
entirely of stars scattered by millions.
like glittering dust, on the background Of
the general heavens The number Of
stars that can be distinctly counted in the
Milky Way exceeds $500, 900. But this
belt is only one of those clusters Of stars,
called aebulG, of which there have been OBJ
served and examined no less than 5000
Each Of these appears to be composed of
stars as Tricky crowded as the Milky
Way. or one Of them, Sir John Herscbel
says; Ten or twenty thousand stars APP
pear to be compacted or wedged together
in a space not larger than tenth part Of
that covered by the moon, and presenting
in its centre one blaze of light What.
then, must be the number in the whole OF
that nehula9 And If tn all tho foraro;n.r